How to Use SheCreates, Pakistan's Free Portal for Women Entrepreneurs
SheCreates is SMEDA's free portal for women entrepreneurs in Pakistan. See who runs it, what it lists, how to register with a CNIC and three schemes to check.
SheCreates is SMEDA's free online portal for women entrepreneurs in Pakistan, at shecreates.smeda.org. It lists more than 120 government schemes, plus grants, loans, mentors and business tools, in one place. Registration is free and you do not need a registered business. You sign up with your name, mobile number, email address and CNIC.
The portal calls itself the Women Entrepreneurship Portal, or WEP. SMEDA, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, runs it. We opened it on 1 October 2026 and read its public pages, its FAQ and its sign-up form.
Be clear about one thing first. SheCreates is an information and referral site. You cannot apply for a loan or a grant on it. It shows you the scheme and its rules, then sends you to the body that runs it.
SMEDA runs the SheCreates portal
SMEDA manages the SheCreates portal, according to the portal's own FAQ. SMEDA is a government body under the Ministry of Industries and Production, set up in October 1998 to help small and medium businesses grow. The portal is meant for women in every province.
The launch came in September 2026. Reports at the time said the portal was built under the government's B-READY reform plan, with the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) working with SMEDA. The portal itself names SMEDA as the manager and lists SECP among its partners, along with UN Women, the ILO, JICA and others. We could not read an official launch notice, so treat the launch details as reported.
Help comes from SMEDA's head office at Aiwan-e-Iqbal Complex, Egerton Road, Lahore. The portal gives the phone number 042 111 111 456 and the email helpdesk@smeda.org.pk.
What the portal lists for women entrepreneurs
The portal sorts its material into six groups: mentorship, grants, financial schemes, policies, SMEDA reports and development reports. It also has free business calculators, a mentor directory and a community forum. Its home page counts more than 120 government schemes.
| Section | What you find there |
|---|---|
| Mentorship and Coaching | Mentor profiles, connection requests and online meetings |
| Grants and Assistance Programs | Grants, subsidies and non-financial support from government and development partners |
| Financial Schemes for Women Entrepreneurs | Loans, grants and financing for women-owned businesses |
| Economic Frameworks and Policies | National policies and rules on women's entrepreneurship |
| SMEDA Reports and Publications | Business guides, feasibility studies and sector reports |
| Development Reports | Studies on SMEs and women-led business growth |
The calculators are worth a look even if you never ask for a loan. They cover break-even, loan repayment, working capital, income tax, inventory, depreciation, financial ratios and start-up capital. A home-based seller can use the break-even tool to see how many orders a month cover her costs.
One catch. The six groups are visible to everyone, but clicking any of them sends you to the sign-up page. So you have to register before you can see the actual list of schemes.
How to register on SheCreates
Go to shecreates.smeda.org, click Register and choose "As Entrepreneur". Fill in your name, gender, mobile number, email, CNIC and a password, accept the terms, then verify your email. Registration is free, and the portal says no registered business is needed.
- Open shecreates.smeda.org on your phone or computer.
- Click Register, then choose "As Entrepreneur". The "As Mentor" option is for experts who want to guide others.
- Enter your first, middle and last name, gender, mobile number, email address and CNIC number.
- Set a password. The form does not allow spaces or symbols such as # ^ - _ = + / ( ) and quotes.
- Tick the box to accept the terms, submit, and follow the email verification step.
- Log in and open Programs to see the schemes, or Mentorship to find a mentor.
Your login is shared with SMEDA's SME Registration Portal, known as SMERP. If you forget your password, the portal sends you to SMERP to reset it, then you come back and sign in.
Three schemes to check alongside the portal
We read three government options on their own official pages. The PM Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme gives loans up to Rs 7.5 million. SMEDA publishes pre-feasibility studies, and it also runs a database of bank loans for small businesses.
We could not see which schemes sit inside the portal's list without an account. So these three are not quoted from SheCreates. They are federal options we checked at source, and each one fits a common first question.
PM Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme
The PM Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme lends through 15 commercial, Islamic and SME banks. Applicants must be Pakistani residents aged 21 to 45, or 18 to 45 for IT and e-commerce businesses. Applications go online only, and government employees cannot apply.
| Tier | Loan amount | Markup |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Up to Rs 0.5 million | 0% |
| Tier 2 | Above Rs 0.5 million to Rs 1.5 million | 5% |
| Tier 3 | Above Rs 1.5 million to Rs 7.5 million | 7% |
The bank, not the scheme, decides whether you get the loan. The step-by-step for the PM Youth Business Loan covers the form and the common reasons applications fail.
SMEDA pre-feasibility studies
SMEDA publishes pre-feasibility studies and business guides on its website. A study sets out the rough costs and steps for one kind of business. Read one before you borrow, because it gives you numbers to test your own plan against.
SMEDA SME Financing Products Database
SMEDA's website also has an SME Financing Products Database. SMEDA describes it as a search engine of loans offered by banks to entrepreneurs and small businesses. It helps you compare bank products before you visit a branch.
Punjab residents have a provincial option too. The Asaan Karobar scheme is run by the Punjab government, separate from the federal loan above.
Get the most out of SheCreates
Register, fill in your profile honestly, then use the mentor directory and the calculators first. Read each scheme's rules on the official page it links to before you apply. Never share bank or card details on the portal, as SMEDA itself warns.
- Pick a mentor for your stage. Mentors list the business stages they prefer, from "aspiring" and "ideation" to "scaling".
- Ask a mentor about one problem. A focused question, such as pricing or exports, gets a better answer than "help me grow".
- Get your papers in order. If a scheme or bank asks for a tax number, you can register as a sole proprietor with FBR without forming a company.
- Watch for middlemen. The portal is free. Anyone who charges a fee to "get you" a scheme is not part of it.
Common questions
Who runs the SheCreates portal?
SMEDA, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority, under the Ministry of Industries and Production.
Is SheCreates registration free?
Yes. The portal says registration and its resources are free, and mentorship is generally offered at no cost.
Do I need a registered business to join?
No. The portal says aspiring entrepreneurs, home-based workers and freelancers can join without a registered business.
Can I apply for a loan on SheCreates?
No. It is an information and referral site. You apply on the website of the bank or body running the scheme.
Can women outside Punjab use it?
Yes. The portal says it serves women entrepreneurs in all provinces and regions of Pakistan.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 1 October 2026. The portal's name, its management by SMEDA, the six sections, the 120 plus scheme count, the sign-up fields, the free registration, the referral-only role and the contact details are read on the SheCreates portal and its FAQ. The loan tiers, ages and bank count are read on the PM Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme website. SMEDA's pre-feasibility studies and financing database are listed on smeda.org. The September launch date and the role of SIFC and SECP are reported and not confirmed by an official notice we could read. We did not register an account, so we have not seen the full scheme list.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
